


t-shirt weather

by stardusts (ghostiies)



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: M/M, Me: i'll write a multichapter roadtrip fic with emotions, about college age like 17-18 here!!!, alksejbugnsfmk, me: writes this shit oneshot instead, mni, theyre in love ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-08 04:06:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12856386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostiies/pseuds/stardusts
Summary: They never had enough gas money, enough food money or enough guts to leave Derry behind. But Richie somehow knew they'd leave some day. They'd leave for good.





	t-shirt weather

**Author's Note:**

> GOOD SONGS FOR THIS PILE O' SHIT OF MINE;  
> t-shirt weather - circa waves  
> the good life - weezer   
> not nineteen forever - the courtneers 
> 
> SIDE NOTE: i wrote this idea on whim and i never double checked it lol so iits..... bad my man. enjoy anyways

The second Richie Tozier gets a car of his own, he cries. It's an old, beat up, black Cadillac coupe deville with a large scratch down the right side and a wonky mirror that he can never seem to position right, but it's his. The driver's seat has an uncomfortable spring that sticks up into his left side if he drives for more than 20 minutes and the leather on the back seats is cracked and peeling in places, but it's his. It's a cheap second hand thing, beat up, bruised, scratched, peeling and barely hanging on, but it's his. 

The first time Eddie sees it, he cries too. Big, hearty sobs into Richie's shoulder that bring a peculiar sting back to Richie's own eyes. To any other person, it was just a big pile of scrap metal on wheels. But to Eddie and Richie, it was so much more. It was a ticket out of Derry, an escape route, a lifeline. Everything they'd promised each-other in the late hours almost every night since they were 13, in the form of one beaten, magnificent car. The whisper of Richie's promise that he'd take Eddie far away from his mother's shadow and they'd never look back- materialised as the purr of an engine. 

They slop a long line of cheap black paint over the scratch in the side- it doesn't really match, but it's better than leaving the scratch open. The mirror still won't position right, but it's a little better thanks to the duct tape forcing it into position. There's nothing they can do about the seats, but Eddie hangs up a new air freshener every week and Richie leaves trashy stickers and scorch marks from burnt out cigarettes all over the dashboard. It's theirs, and Richie is convinced the only thing he's ever loved more is Eddie. 

Richie gets a job at the local record store and Eddie works shifts at the Aladdin for gas money. No matter how long they save, they can never seem to get enough together to carry them all the way out of Derry forever. They leave for days at a time, sometimes weeks. But they always look back. He takes Eddie to the next city over and they sleep in the car for 2 days. Richie's never felt happier than he has now, watching Eddie bop along subtly to the song crackling through the busted radio while trying to keep his eyes on the road. His window is rolled down and the hot air rushes past him, tangling his curls even further. Eddie tells him to stop sticking his head out the window like a dog, and he just laughs, head thrown back and his shoulders shaking. He's never felt so much love for Eddie in his life. His neck aches, his back feels knotted and he hasn't showered in the 2 days they've been out of town, but he's so happy it almost makes his chest feel full and bursting. 

Eventually, they turn back. They always do. Either it's no more gas money, no more food money, or just lack of will to really up and leave everything behind, they always turn back. They're halfway back to Derry now, pulled over alongside some random field to sleep for the night. It's cold, but that suits Richie just fine, no matter how awkward it is attempting to cuddle together in the backseat of a car. He's wide awake, he knows Eddie is too. But neither of them speak, content to enjoy each other's silence. He can hear crickets and birds through the thin windows, almost enough to lull him to sleep, yet not quite being able to finish the job. He knows neither he or Eddie can sleep, so why bother stay cramped up in the car? He jostles Eddie slightly, grinning down at the raised eyebrow he receives in return and gestures to the door. 

“Fancy watching some stars with me, Eds?” He asks, already reaching to the door handle before he gets an answer. He never really does get an answer, Eddie just exasperatedly shakes his head and nudges Richie out of the car. He squeaks when Richie picks him up by the waist and hoists him onto the car roof and he can physically feel his heart swell with pure love at the sound. He clambers up himself a few seconds later, immediately pulling Eddie against him. It's cloudy out and the light pollution of the nearby city blocks out any stars that remain beyond the clouds, yet Richie feels completely at peace. He almost expects a snide comment about the lack of stars, yet never receives one. He looks down at Eddie and sees the most love-struck, sappy, heart-eyed look he's ever seen on Eddie's face, and he knows he doesnt want to be with anyone else in his life. He's never felt so sure. He clambers back down momentarily to turn the radio on, eventually clambering back up once the static noise fills the air around them. Derry is only about 3 hours down the road, yet it's never felt further away. 

The next time, it's a full week. They break into a motel room at the first half-decent looking motel they see. It's in a mostly isolated little roadside town, but the people are nice enough and the motel owner seemingly doesn't notice the uninvited occupants of room 26. The bed is springy and stiff, the yellow wallpaper is peeling and the A/C makes a loud shuddering groan before it turns on, but it's enough for them. The window is ajar and Richie is sat under it, slumped against the old wall with a burning cigarette in hand. Eddie's in the shower, giving him the opportunity to have a smoke. He'd never do it in the same room as Eddie, he knows how sickening his baby finds the smell. So he lets it waft out the window instead, even if his position underneath it is uncomfortable. He doesn't want the smell to linger for Eddie. He eyes the cheap, plastic tourist camera lying on the chipped wooden bedside table. He bought it to take pictures of Eddie while Eddie pretends not to notice, because he likes to hang them on his wall to stare at late at night. They manage to squeeze 3 days out of the motel until the owner comes banging on their door angrily. Richie just bursts into laughter at Eddie's pure expression of panic, shoving him out of the back window of the room and into their car. They drive aimlessly for a few days, until eventually they just can't pay for gas money anymore, and they turn back. 

Every time they turn back it leaves a sting in Richie's heart, but he knows, he just KNOWS, that one day they won't. It might be tomorrow, 3 weeks into the future or 3 years into the future. But one day they'll leave Derry behind.


End file.
